The body of Erica Fox, 55, an open ocean swimmer from Pebble Beach, was recovered Saturday after she went missing following a shark attack off Northern California on December 21. Fox, a co-founder of the Kelp Krawlers swimming club, was remembered by her husband and a fellow club member, who survived a previous shark attack, at a vigil.
Erica Fox, 55, an open ocean swimmer from Pebble Beach and co-founder of the Kelp Krawlers swimming club, was identified after her body was recovered Saturday from the ocean south of Davenport Beach in Santa Cruz County. She had been missing since December 21, when she was attacked by a shark during a swim in Monterey Bay with her husband, Jean-Francois Vanreusel, and other club members. Vanreusel, who led a vigil for his wife of 30 years, noted she was still wearing her white Garmin watch and an electromagnetic 'shark band' meant to deter sharks. Though he didn't witness the attack, two people on shore did. Fox was a triathlete who completed two Half Ironmans. Experts emphasize the extreme rarity of shark attacks. This incident marks the second shark attack fatality at Lovers Point in 73 years. The swimming club was particularly shaken, as it was the second shark attack on a member; in 2022, fellow club member Steve Bruemmer was severely injured by a great white shark. Bruemmer, who now uses walking sticks, attended the vigil and offered comfort, stating that shark bites are not physically painful and reminding attendees that 'tomorrow is not guaranteed.' Many club members, including Fox, started wearing 'Sharkbanz' after Bruemmer's attack, despite knowing their limited effectiveness against high-speed attacks.
